The Haftarah for Parashat Bo 5762

Bavel (Babylon) will defeat Egypt.

Read from Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) Chapter 46: 13-28

The Story Line of This Week's Haftorah: 46:13,14 The Haftorah begins with Yirmiyahu's prophecy predicting the Babylonian King Nevuchadnezzar and his army will destroy Egypt. 46:15-18 Not that it mattered but Egypt was told to prepare her army for war. There was one thing could save them. That was, if the Egyptian's did teshuvah (repentance). 46:19 Yirmiyahu continues to predict that Egypt will be defeated and exiled. Nevuchadnezzar was coming to invade Egypt and he would eventually destroy Egypt. All the Egyptians will be sent into exile. So...everybody get ready to march, including the nobleman. 46:20-24 There is no hope for victory for the Egyptians. 46:25 We are explained why Hashem punishes Egypt. It is because of all the hardships that Egypt had oppressed upon the Jews over the years. It's payback time. Measure for measure. 46:26 After the Egyptian exile, they will return to their land. 46:27-28 The Haftorah concludes with encouragement from Hashem that if the Egyptians will be permitted to return to their land, then without a doubt the Jews will be able to return from Babylon to their homeland, The Land of Israel.

The Haftorah's Connection between the Parasha and Haftorah: In the Parasha Egypt is punished for committing atrocities against the Jews. One of them was being the plague of locusts. This Haftorah was picked because it has a reference to locusts. Another connection is that towards the end of the Parasha, B’nai Yisrael set out on their journey of freedom from Egyptian bondage towards the Land of Israel. Similarly the Haftorah concludes with B’nai Yisraels' liberation from exile.

Haftorahman's Lesson of the week: At times it may seem that there is no justice in the world. We see either in our personal lives or lives as a part of the Jewish religion, others taking advantage of us. However the prophet Jeremiah reassures us that the day will come, when our past enemies will pay restitution to us. We must remember that as Jews a fundamental principal that we should live by is, "Midah Keneged Midah" or "Measure for Measure," and that one day Hashem will "settle the score" with our enemies. We can plainly see this today. After 2000 years we have Israel our homeland back. Another example is how the money that was stolen from the Jews during the years of the Holocaust, will now be returned to them. Hashem is orchestrating these events, let's all stay close to Hashem so we can see the Grand Finale, together and up front.

The Biography of Jeremiah: The meaning of his name is "Hashem will elevate." He was the son of Chilkiya also a prophet. He was a Kohen. He was born in Anatot, 2 miles north of Jerusalem in the land of Benjamin. He spoke at childhood and cursed the day he was born. Isaiah came before Yirmiyahu, and Ezekiel comes after. He wrote 3 Books: Jeremiah - 52 chapters, Eicha (Lamentations), and Melacim (The Book of Kings). He started his prophecies when he was 18 and continued for 40 years. Jeremiah was born with a circumcision. He was a descendant of Rehab, Jericho's innkeeper that Joshua saved. His prophecies took place before, during, and after the destruction of the Bait Hamikdash (Holy Temple). Nevuchadnezzar King of Babylon destroyed the Temple. He remained in Jerusalem after its destruction with Gedalyah ben Achikam, The man who the fast of Gedalyah is named after. Shafan was his scribe. Shafan brought the scroll he found in the Bait Hamikdash to Jeremiah, which was originally written by Moses. It was open to the verse "Hashem will bring you and your elected King to a nation unknown to your fathers." That scared people into changing their ways. He was chosen by Hashem in 624 B.C.E. to be a prophet about 2625 years ago. Jeremiah claimed he was too young for the job. Jeremiah lived in Jerusalem. He was never married and he never had children. He was the head of the Mishmeret Hakohanim (The Guard by the Priests doing work in the Holy Temple). They were the custodians of the Ark of the Lord. He wore a wooden yolk around his neck. Jeremiah was known as the Weeping Prophet. He was born in 640 B.C.E. about 2650 years ago, on Tisha Be'av. The time span of the book Jeremiah was 66 years. Baruch was his friend and deceiple. He was stoned to death after fleeing to Egypt, Alexandria.

Timeline: This story took place about 2600 years ago.

Map: Jeremiah prophecies took place in Jerusalem.

Written by: The Haftorahman - Reuven Gavriel ben Nissim Ebrahimoff 5762-2001

If you have any thoughts or questions, please contact me at: haftorahman@aol.com